During the combustion cycle of conventional internal combustion engines, some combustion gases may leak past the piston rings of the cylinder and into the crankcase. These leaked gases are often referred to as blow-by gases. Crankcase ventilation (“CV”) systems are employed to vent the blow-by gases from the crankcase. Some CV systems are open loop systems, meaning the blow-by gases are vented to the ambient environment. Other CV systems are closed loop systems, meaning the blow-by gases are returned to the engine for combustion.
Many CV systems include a crankcase ventilation filter that allows the blow-by gases to be swept out of the crankcase (e.g., out of a road draft tube, into the engine intake, etc.). The crankcase ventilation filter may be a coalescing filter, a ventilation rotating filter, an inertial separator, a rotating cone stack filter, or the like. The crankcase ventilation filter may assist in treating the blow-by gases to reduce environmental impact of the internal combustion engine.
In some arrangements, the CV filter may be susceptible to cold temperatures. The cold temperatures may cause solidification of liquids in outlets (e.g., water vapor in the blow-by gases to freeze), which may plug the outlet. If an outlet of the CV system becomes plugged, pressure may build within the CV system and damage the CV system and possibly the engine itself. The plugging of CV system outlets due to cold conditions is a greater risk in CV systems having the CV filter mounted external to an engine cavity.
Some CV systems utilize a heating element that requires a source of energy outside of the internal combustion engine itself (i.e., a heating component having a primary function of heating the CV filter). For example, some CV systems utilize electric heating elements to directly heat the CV filter. As another example, some CV systems may utilize a separate coolant system to pass heated coolant through the CV filter. Still, other CV systems may utilize insulation, such as an over-molded insulation on plastic housings for the CV system parts, to protect the CV filter from cold temperatures. However, insulation alone does not generate heat. Accordingly, some CV systems may utilize both a heating element that requires a source of energy outside of the internal combustion engine itself and insulation. Utilizing a heating element that requires a source of energy outside of the internal combustion engine itself requires additional components and may negatively impact the overall efficiency of the engine.